Put cornmeal into mixing bowl, add chopped butter, oil and seasonings. Pour in boiling water, and quickly blend using a round-edged knife. (test between fingers; when pressed together, it must be smooth not sticky.)

Heat oil, add garlic. When pale brown, remove garlic. Add meat and saute until light brown. .Add chopped onions, tomato ketchup and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer on low heat for about five minutes. Add herbs, chopped olives, capers, raisins, cooking peppers and simmer on low heat, until meat is tender and flavour is developed. Stock may be used at this stage and cooking continued at low heat. Filling should be tender and moist. Prepare banana leaves. Wilt in boiling water, or over a flame. Wipe leaves dry and cut in squares. Rub the leaves/foil with oil. Make sure leaves are well oiled before putting on corn. Spread a small ball of corn on the leaf. Pat down. Place a square of wet muslin over the corn mixture and roll out thinly, using a rolling pin or pastelle press. Put about a tablespoon of meat filling in the center adding some raisins, a bit of olives and capers. Fold half of leaf over, bringing with it the flattered corn mixture. Fold over the other half to cover. Now fold leaf to make a parcel. Place into another leaf of opposite grain or if using foil, omit the second leaf covering. Tightly fold over the ends, if foil is used. If leaves are used, tie and put into boiling water, with a little salt and sugar to taste. Cook for one and a half hours. Drain immediately and place pastelles on a flat surface. When pastelles are cold, they remain in whatever shape they were put.

Note: This recipe gives the method to make traditional beef pastelles. Chicken or vegetable fillings may be used in the same manner.

I understand all of your feelings (PR), but has anyone asked that the correct flag be placed there. Apparently the person that submitted the recipe is unaware that the flag plays such an important part in this discussion. I am from Trinidad with Venezuelian heritage. When my great, great, great-grandmother came from Venezuela she came with her culinary skills and passed it down to her children, grand- children and great-grand-children. My grandmother passed it down to her daughter and her grand-children. With the exception of a few mordern day variations this recipe is TRUE. So please, it may not be the famous Puerto Rican pastellas but it is true and meaningful to another ethnic group. Just ask Caribbean Choice to place it under the correct flag and remove the PR flag from this recipe. DO NOT disrespect other peoples' values!

WAH!!!!! THIS IS A TOTAL DISGRACE!!!! THESE ARE NOT EVEN CLOSE TO PASTELES...PORK NOT BEEF...PORK NOT BEEF!!! ANOTHER THING...WHAT THE HELL IS THE CORNMEAL USED FOR? BANANA LEAVES IS THE CORRECT WAY TO WRAP THEM. THIS IS VERY SHAMEFUL.

I'M A PUERTORIQUENA AND THIS IS NOT CORRECT. PLEASE...I SHOULD KNOW. WE PUERTORIQUENAS USE MALANGA AND YUATIA AND PLATANOS TO USE AS A DOUGH LIKE SUBSTANCE...NOT CORNMEAL...WERE NOT CENTRAL AMERICAN. WERE CARIBBEAN SO WE USE CARIBBEAN INGREDIENTS. I DON'T CARE WHERE THIS RECIPE CAME FROM BUT THIS ISN'T A PASTELLES RECIPE!!!! I'LL TAKE MATTERS INTO MY OWN HANDS AND SUBMITT THE RIGHT RECIPE

OK...WELL IF LIKE IS SOOOO MUCH BIGGER THAN PR THAN WHY IS PR KNOWN PASTELLES AND WHY THE HELL IS THERE A PR FLAG UP THERE...ONCE AGAIN. THIS ISN'T A PASTELLES RECIPE...MAYBE IF IT CAME FROM THE SOUTHERN CARIBBEAN...MAYBE SOMEONE SHOULD HAVE PUT THERE FLAG UP THERE

Yes, it's a wide world, but the boriquas are right. These are NOT Puerto Rican pastelles, so why post the recipe under the Puerto Rican flag? These are more like tamal cubanos, but those, too are better made with pork, and use corn husks in place of leaves. Tikitiah is right, "shocked" and "disappointing" are good comments.

You in this forum made me join Caribbean Choice. I was just leafing through these recipes and I found your interesting threads. What is all the fussing about if they are called pastelles and are made with corn meal??? That is the good thing about recipes they CHANGE over time...hopefully for the better. I understand a bit of the frustration when looking for a "true/traditional recipe. Last week I was trying to make "conkies" which is a TRADITIONAL Bajan dish...and as I recall it is made with cornmeal, pumpkin and sweet potato. Lo and behold, I foudn a TRADITIONAL recipe that says it is made with only RIPE PLANTAINS. By the way...for you saavy "puerto ricans" this conkie is much like a TAMALE...except it is entirely sweet. Though the other "conkie" is much like your PASTELLE with the plantain...but of course it is also sweet. So you see....recipes sometimes do get lost in translation. And one last word...to add to the confusion....all these tamales, pasteles, conkies, dunkanoos...all of these are TRADITIONAL WEST AFRICAN dishes...OR a variation thereof...FELICIDADES A Todos!

Sorry but I have to agree, it may be typical in Trinidad and Venezueal, but this is a forum for Puertorican recipes, and this recipe doesn't even resemble our recipe, which consist of green bananas, yautias, and calabasas for the pastel and the filling is made with pork....

This IS an authentic pastelle recipe unlike previously stated. Life is infact BIGGER than Puerto Rico and this is how pastelles are made in the southern Caribbean, specifically Trinidad...by way of Venezuela. Please no small minded individuals.

This is not a traditional Pasteles Recipe. We Puertoricans don't use cornflour in our pasteles we use plantains!! I don't know who came up with this recipe but to me this sounds like a recipe for Tamales. PLEASE SOMEONE SUBMIT THE CORRECT INFO. I was completely baffled when I read this recipe.

Mostly made in South America & dutch/other caribbean islands ...This version might not be as popular in PR; but it's 'pastelles' nonetheless. "Anything" wrapped in a banana leaf, plantain leaf, corn husk (or aluminum foil, for the deprived of tropical resources) is called 'pasteles'...

Pork not beef! Where's the shredded/grated/cuisinarted plantains/green bananas. This was a travesty. Banana leaves vs. ti leaves (Hawaiian Island Puerto Rican background) is debatable, however the cornmeal without any banana base is not! And, where did the thyme come from! Very disappointed. Did make an allowance for the beef vs. pork issue and "the juice wasn't worth the squeeze". Basic oomph to recipe is from the indentation filled with meat (pork best) cooked in (better than you offered) sofrito and garnished by an OLIVE. Raisins are heresy, though allowable for Argentinians, in my family (Montihos from Ponce)! I remained shocked!